Wednesday, 18 April 2018

Chairman Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) & Secretary Department of Space, Dr K Sivan called on Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space Dr Jitendra Singh here today. During the meeting Dr. K Sivan briefed him about the upcoming Moon mission “Chandrayaan-2”, expected to be launched from Sriharikota around October-November this year.

Giving details about the upcoming Chandrayaan-2 mission, Dr Sivan informed that the total cost of the mission is about Rs. 800 crore, which includes Rs. 200 crore as the cost of launching and Rs. 600 crore for the satellite. This cost, he said, is almost half of the cost of around Rs. 1500 crore, which would have been otherwise incurred if the same mission had to be launched from a foreign launching site.

Chandrayaan-2 will be equipped with a land-rover and probe, which will descend on the surface of the moon, from where they will collect samples of soil, water, etc to carry back home for detailed analysis and research. This will be the first-of-its-kind moon mission to this extent.

Dr Jitendra Singh not only appreciated Chandrayaan-2 for being a cost-effective mission but also lauded it for being totally indigenous in its expertise, manufacturing and material, which makes it an appropriate example of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s “Make in India” Mantra.

Another ISRO Mission, GSLV Mk III-D2, scheduled for June-July this year, also came up for discussion.